Control

Control is a demanding action-adventure title, and the data for the Intel Core i5-11400F + AMD Radeon RX 9060 combo shows a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics card at higher resolutions. This pairing places the GPU as the primary bottleneck from 1440p upward, while the CPU provides enough headroom to avoid becoming the limiting factor at 1080p. The benchmark results indicate a configuration that can deliver playable frame rates at 1440p with adjusted settings, but it will struggle to maintain a smooth experience at 4K unless visual fidelity is significantly compromised.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a steep and predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop reveals where the system’s weakness lies. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 82 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 62 FPS, a reduction of roughly 24%. Pushing further to 2160p High results in 42 FPS, which is a 32% decrease from the 1440p figure and only about half of the 1080p performance. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario; the RX 9060 is running out of pixel throughput and memory bandwidth as the resolution climbs.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution further illustrates this point. At 1080p, the spread is significant: 130 FPS on Low versus 71 FPS on Ultra, a difference of 59 FPS. This wide margin at the lowest resolution suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to express its full range of performance. By 1440p, the Low-to-Ultra spread narrows to 44 FPS (98 vs. 54), and at 4K it tightens further to just 30 FPS (66 vs. 36). The shrinking delta between settings at higher resolutions is a classic sign that the GPU is saturated; lowering settings provides diminishing returns because the rendering resolution itself is the primary load.

For a builder targeting 60 FPS, this data suggests that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combo. The 1440p Medium preset achieves exactly 70 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS, indicating a stable experience. At 4K, even the Low preset only manages 66 FPS on average, but the lack of a minimum FPS figure for that row makes it a riskier proposition. The 4K Medium row, which includes a min of 40 FPS, shows that the system can dip into uncomfortable territory. The scaling analysis makes it clear: this is a 1080p-to-1440p setup, and 4K should only be considered if the user is willing to accept average frame rates in the 40s or lower.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of presets for this specific combination of CPU and GPU. For a balanced experience that prioritizes stability, the Medium preset is the standout choice across most resolutions. At 1080p, Medium yields 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS, offering a smooth and responsive experience that is only 22% slower than the Low preset’s 130 FPS but with substantially better visual quality. At 1440p, Medium hits 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, which is right at the threshold for a consistent 60 FPS gameplay experience. The min FPS figures for Medium at both 1080p and 1440p show that the frame pacing is consistent enough to avoid severe stutters.

High settings are a viable option for users with higher refresh rate monitors at 1080p, where the 82 FPS average is acceptable, but the lack of a minimum FPS figure for that row means there is less data to confirm stability. At 1440p, High drops to 62 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset is not recommended for this combo. At 1080p, it produces 71 FPS, which is only 14% faster than the 1440p Medium result, and the visual gains are unlikely to justify the performance cost. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target.

The data suggests that the "sweet spot" for this system is the Medium preset. It provides a playable frame rate at 1440p and a highly fluid experience at 1080p. For users who prefer visual fidelity over raw speed, High at 1080p is the max sensible choice. The 4K resolution is a special case; the Low preset’s 66 FPS is the only row that breaks the 60 FPS barrier at that resolution, but it will look noticeably worse than Medium or High. Given the data, a practical recommendation would be to use Medium settings for a default experience, and only consider High if the resolution is fixed at 1080p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the decisive component in this system’s gaming performance. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The 8 GB capacity is a significant factor in the 4K results. The large frame buffer demands of 4K textures and high-resolution rendering are likely causing the GPU to run into memory limitations, which explains why the 4K Medium preset only achieves 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS. The 1440p results are more comfortable, as the 8 GB capacity is generally sufficient for that resolution, allowing the GPU’s compute power to be the primary determinant of performance.

Clock speeds are another key indicator. The GPU has a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. The high boost clock relative to the base clock suggests that the card can aggressively scale its frequency under load, which is reflected in the 1080p Low score of 130 FPS. However, the data shows that this clock headroom is not enough to overcome the resolution scaling penalties. The GPU’s raw compute is rated at 21.43 TFLOPS FP32, which is a solid figure for 1080p and 1440p gaming but is not sufficient for 4K Ultra settings in a game like Control.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in a specific performance tier. It holds a percentile rank of 59 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16014. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which scores 16129, a delta of -0.7%. This shows that the RX 9060 is essentially on par with the RTX 3060 Ti in general compute benchmarks. The passmark G3D score of 17631 confirms that it is a capable mid-range card. The data suggests that this GPU is well-suited for 1080p and decent for 1440p, but its 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus are clear limitations when pushing towards 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested configurations, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 holds a global rank of 1632 out of 2888 combos. This places it in the 56th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that it is a slightly above-average pairing. However, it is important to note that this rank is specific to Control, and the game’s particular engine demands will influence this position. A rank of 1632 out of 2888 suggests that while this combo is not a top-tier performer, it is far from the bottom of the barrel.

The rank is a composite result of both the CPU and GPU performance. Given that the GPU is the bottleneck, the rank is likely being pulled down by the RX 9060’s limitations at higher resolutions. If this combo were tested only at 1080p, its rank would likely be higher, as the CPU’s performance is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking. The data shows that the CPU has a percentile rank of 71 against all CPUs, which is higher than the GPU’s rank of 59. This discrepancy confirms that the graphics card is the weaker link in this pairing.

For a builder looking at this rank, it indicates that this system is suitable for 1080p gaming with high refresh rates and 1440p gaming at medium settings. It is not a system that will excel at 4K, and the rank reflects that. The combo’s position in the middle of the pack is a fair assessment of its capabilities when considering all resolutions. It is a balanced, mainstream setup that prioritizes value over absolute performance, and its rank in the 56th percentile is consistent with that positioning.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. In Control, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The benchmark results show that this processor is more than capable of handling the game’s CPU demands at the tested resolutions. The 1080p Low preset achieves 130 FPS, and the 1080p Ultra preset reaches 71 FPS. The fact that the 1080p frame rates are significantly higher than the 1440p and 4K results indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions.

The CPU’s multi-threaded performance is solid, as indicated by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14340 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 7737. The single-thread performance is also respectable, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2024. Control tends to be more sensitive to single-thread performance, but the 12 threads ensure that background tasks and the game’s ancillary threads do not cause stuttering. The CPU’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth) provide adequate bandwidth for the GPU.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17177. This is nearly identical to the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17120, +0.3%) and the Intel Core i5-12450H (17239, -0.4%), showing it holds its own in synthetic tests. However, in real-world gaming, the 6-core/12-thread config is sufficient for Control’s engine. The data shows that at 4K, the frame rates are so low that the CPU is clearly idle waiting for the GPU; at 1080p, the CPU is able to push frame rates above 100 FPS on lower settings. This confirms that the i5-11400F is a strong match for the RX 9060, providing enough headroom to ensure the GPU is the sole bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but not comfortably. The measured data shows an average of 42 FPS on High settings and 36 FPS on Ultra at 2160p. The Low preset achieves 66 FPS, but this is the only 4K setting that breaks the 60 FPS barrier, and it comes with a significant visual quality reduction.

Q: What is the best setting for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: The Medium preset is the most reliable choice. At 1440p, it delivers 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, and at 1080p, it achieves 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS. These minimums indicate stable performance without major frame drops.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this system?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at resolutions above 1080p. The GPU holds a 59th percentile rank compared to the CPU’s 71st percentile. The steep FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is a classic sign of GPU limitation, not a CPU limitation.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its closest rival?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti’s score of 16129. This suggests they are effectively equivalent in general performance, though game-specific results can vary.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, 8 GB appears to be sufficient, as the frame rates are playable. However, at 4K, the performance drops significantly (42 FPS on High), which is likely due to the 8 GB frame buffer being saturated, forcing the GPU to manage memory less efficiently.

Q: What is the ideal resolution for this combo?

A: The benchmark data strongly suggests 1440p is the sweet spot. The system achieves 70 FPS on Medium settings at that resolution, offering a good balance between visual quality and performance. 1080p is also excellent, but 4K should be avoided unless the user is willing to play on Low settings.